Entering Saturday's game, there was one glaring discrepancy between Hawthorn and Fremantle's games.
The Dockers ranked second in the competition for contested possessions while the Hawks languished at second last for the statistic.
But, recognising this sizeable difference in game styles, instead of avoiding this area, the Hawks took it up to Ross Lyon's side.
Hawthorn ultimately narrowly lost the contested possession count on the day but its competitiveness in this area was telling.
The importance of this battle was not lost on Hawthorn Coach Alastair Clarkson who noted the area as a significant influence on the game post-match.
"A lot of the game was actually dependent on who was winning the contested ball and the clearance battle," Clarkson told his press conference following the win.
"Whichever side had the dominance at that point in time was ultimately getting it forward and taht's quite often the case.
"But that was important for us in the back part of that third quarter which ultimately gave us some breathing space going into three quarter time."
